Two avalanches in Austrian Alps kill four

VIENNA, Austria -- Two avalanches swept away groups of skiers at separate resorts in the western province of Tyrol Sunday, killing four people, police and rescuers said.

The first avalanche roared down a mountain at the ski resort of Obergurgl, 215 miles west of Vienna, killing three German skiers. Five members of the group, from a ski club from Mannheim, Germany, managed to free themselves from the snow.

A second avalanche struck hours later in Goelbner, 260 miles southwest of Vienna. It swept away a group of seven skiers, killing an Austrian man, police said.